Farewell, Amethystine

By: Walter Mosley

Narrated by: Michael Boatman

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

From “master of the genre” (Washington Post) Walter Mosley, Detective Easy Rawlins’ latest client sends him down a warren of memory and nostalgia—blinding him to reason and risk.

January 1970 finds Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, LA’s premier Black detective, at 50 years of age despite all expectations. He has a loving family, a beautiful home, and a thriving investigation agency. All is right with the world… and then Amethystine Stoller, his own personal Helen of Troy, arrives. Her ex-husband is missing. A simple enough case. But even as Easy takes his first step in the investigation he trips. He falls into the memory of things past. Little things, like loss, love, a world war, and a hunger that has eaten at him since he was a Black boy on his own on the streets of Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas.

The missing ex, a young white man named Curt Fields, is found dead. Easy’s only real friend in the LAPD, Melvin Suggs, has gone into hiding rather than allow his femme fatale wife to go to the gas chamber. And that’s only the beginning.

Easy finds himself pressed into a reckoning. All of his success cannot succor his heart. The 1970’s have ushered in new expectations of men and women, Black and White, and Easy has to make a choice that will almost certainly hasten a permanent descent, one that might sunder his soul.

©2024 Walter Mosley (P)2024 Mulholland Books

Not the Best, Not the Worst...

It's definitely not the best in the series, but it's serviceable. There were weird continuity issues I came across, sorta lazy wrapups for characters introduced, and a new love interest that borrows heavily from Bonnie's introduction in "Little Yellow Dog". I love these books, but maybe it's time to start heading towards the finale.

The narrators performance was top notch!

I liked the story because it highlighted Easy's loneliness and yearning for someone he could love and trust. The Overall story was intriguing, however this time I wished that Eay would have been a little more principled toward justice instead of loyalty by making Amythistine face her demons and take responsibility for her actions.

Worth the wait!

I think this is the first Easy Rawlins book in the series that I actually understood the plot and was able to follow all the way through without having to read it twice or back it up and listen again LOL! Easy will always say or do something, at least once, in every book that I will never quite understand. However, Mosley took his time with this one. The chapters/listen hours were longer but it made for an easy to read and follow, well constructed story. I really enjoyed this book and so looking forward to Part 2; like there HAS to be a part 2! I like Amy and was a little disappointed we didn’t get more romance from her and Easy but hoping she will return. Easy is 50, and will be older in the next book so it’s really time for him to find some good Black Love ;) I agree with Juice, he needs a woman. He’s pouring all of his love and affection into these two strange kids. It will always be weird and highly improbable that he raised two small, strange, non-related (and in Feather’s case, female infant) children as a Black man in that era by himself. It will also always be upsetting and sad that he didn’t raise his own child and wouldn’t even know her if he ran into her. Still hoping he (we) will see Edna again at some point. As always, I can’t say how much I love Michael Boatman’s depiction of Easy, he’s awesome!

Easy Does it!

I feel like I've been growing up with Easy Rawlins. Stopping in and checking out what he's up to. its a comfortable feeling. Part mystery, history lesson and this time a meditation on trust. For the seasoned reader you know all the characters and world building Mosley is famous for, there's also new characters and laying some groundwork for future stories and I think could lead to possible spin offs. Boatmans reading, acting out the parts is top tier! A enjoyable read that kept me guessing till the end. Kudos!